Fussy eaters: When I went live on national TV… BBC's Victoria Derbyshire show… #VictoriaLive

Some of our children’s “fussy eating” habits are largely down to genetics according to researchers from University College London.
I was invited on to the Victoria Derbyshire show on BBC Two on Friday morning to talk about how we overcame fussy eating in our family.

( My 22month-old Arianna also came on TV with me but she decided to breastfeed throughout most the interview!)

I myself am a fussy eater which is largely due to having an eating disorder for most of my life.

But ironically and fortunately my husband Chris Hale is a chef, so together as a family unit we have tried to make food a positive part of our lives.There are no “bad” foods in our house

By that I don’t mean our house is full of fresh organic healthy produce. Yes we have tons of fruit and vegetables but we also have chocolate and chicken nuggets.

Instead of condemning certain foods we try to have a balance. We don’t force feed our kids or threaten them if they don’t finish their plate of food.

My eating disorder encourages ‘yes’ and ‘no’ foods in my head… so I’m trying to battle these thoughts, and my hubby and kids help to relax me.

We try to focus on the great things good nutritious food can do for us all such as making us strong and help us to grow.

Both our daughters have picked up on fussy eating habits from me and their peers but we try and gently tackle this by growing and cooking our own food with the girls so they have a sense of pride in the finished product.

By adopting such an easy-going approach and making food fun by eating picnics, Meze platters and using our hands or chop-sticks.

Together my girls and I are learning how amazing food can be for us.

And there’s nothing wrong with a bit of beige now and again!

Here’s me live on the show talking to Joanna Gosling, Annabel Karmel, UCL and Ciara Attwell…

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2 Comments

All three of mine are fussy to a degree, but they all eat a varied diet. Like you, we don’t believe in labelling a food as “bad”, we are trying to teach the art of moderation to our children. I haven’t watched this programme, but I am just about to head off to find it in the depths of the internet!